Recent advances in technology, such as anti-lock braking systems, have resulted in the increased performance of vehicle control systems. One type of such a vehicle control system is a traction control system (TCS). The TCS monitors the automobile's wheels for a rapid acceleration that exceeds a predetermined value. When such a value is detected, the TCS applies a brake force to the accelerating wheels until the wheels' acceleration is within a predetermined range.
Another type of vehicle control system, stability control (SCS), assists a vehicle operator in maintaining control of a vehicle during side/lateral skidding by monitoring yaw rate and lateral acceleration and applying differential braking controls to correct the directional motion of the vehicle.
Another type of vehicle control system, four-wheel steering, enhances the stability of a vehicle at highway speeds by turning the rear-wheels in phase with the front-wheels, thus allowing for improved lane changing while reducing the necessity to change the heading of the vehicle. At lower speeds, four-wheel steering systems reduce the turning radius of a vehicle by turning the rear-wheels out-of-phase relative to the front-wheels.
While the goal of a vehicle control system is to anticipate a vehicle operator's intent and respond accordingly, vehicle control systems generally base their response on vehicle operator actions, such as the angling of the handwheel or the depression of the accelerator pedal, which are measured by sensors associated with the vehicle. For example, for a four-wheel steering system, the angling of a vehicle handwheel at high speeds may cause an estimation that the vehicle operator's intent is to translate a lane change. Similarly, the angling of a vehicle handwheel at low speeds may cause an estimation that the vehicle operator's intent is to change the vehicle's heading. A disadvantage of such methodologies is they do not account for circumstances where a vehicle operator's true intent may vary from the vehicle control system's estimate. For example, a vehicle operator's true intent may be to translate a lane at lower speeds or to turn the vehicle's heading at higher speeds. Therefore what is desired is a system and method for using vehicle operator intent to adjust a vehicle control system.